


Schule

by alexdamien



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M, Slice of Life, highschool
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-05
Updated: 2014-08-16
Packaged: 2018-01-07 06:43:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 10,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1116722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexdamien/pseuds/alexdamien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prussia's parents send him and his little brother to W Academy in Japan. Shenanigans ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Their parents sent Gilbert to the academy first, immediately after they finished the paperwork with the police, but let Ludwig have enough time to say goodbye to his friends.

Or he would have, if he’d had any. They were all Gilbert’s friends, and Ludwig just hung around in the back sometimes. Watching silently, until that time…

-Don’t do anything dumb- he’d whispered when he hugged Ludwig last time, and his little brother had almost cried. –Everything will be fine-

Gilbert laid back on the plane seat and looked at the clouds outside the window. As they parted he saw land at last. Who knew Japan was so far from Germany? Too many hours of flight for Gilbert to spend sitting still. He couldn’t wait until he landed. Apparently his sort-of-cousin would be picking him up. He was from some far branch of the family that lived in Austria. Either way, he just hoped his parents hadn’t told him anything about the incident.

The really nice Japanese stewardress walked by, reminding everyone to please put their tables back up and everything away.

Gilbert sighed. His parents had even taken his phone away, so that all he had on his backpack was underwear and a second change of clothes. Ludwig had slipped him his old black cross when they said good bye to each other at the airport though, so that was all he needed to start again.

He crossed the entrance and saw a boy of roughly his own age standing with a sign that had Gilbert’s full name written in perfect calligraphy.

“Hey, you must be Roderich,” he said, grinning. Roderich just looked down at him.

“Gilbert. I have been informed of the circumstances that required your transfer to W Academy,” he said, in the most stuck up tone Gilbert had ever heard. So much for having a fresh start.

“Ja, whatever. Can we go now? I’m sick of airports and planes and that shit.”

Roderich narrowed his eyes at Gilbert’s language, and gave him the sign with his name. Gilbert saw it was indeed handwritten.

“Follow me. We’ll take a cab to the school. I’ve already arranged for you to stay in my dorm room, as your parents requested.

“Great, so I’m stuck with you?”

“Your parents specially asked me to arrange for you to stay at my room, so if you wish to complain I’d recommend doing so with them.”

“Nah, they’re pretending I don’t exist so I don’t think that’d go very well. Hmph, I suppose staying with family is better since I don’t know any japanese, eh? We’re like, cousins right?”

“Political family. And you need not worry about the language. All the classes are taught in English, which I’ve been told you have no problem with.”

“What else do you know about me? Weight? Favorite sleeping position? Because before yesterday I didn’t even know you existed.”

Roderich turned around to glare at him. “I’ve been told enough to take the necessary precautions so that you can stop shaming your family.”

Gilbert growled and grabbed him by the lapels of his stupid blue coat. “You little-“

“Ah, I was told this might happen,” said Roderich with a deadpan expression, but Gilbert could see the barely contained rage and disgust in his eyes.

Gilbert realized what he was doing and let him go. “Can we just…stop being assholes to each other? I’m really tired.”

Roderich huffed and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. But the silently burning anger was gone from his eyes.

They took a cab to the academy. Classes had started the week before, but they were making an exception for him and his brother, who would be arriving a couple days later. Gilbert’s mood brightened when Roderich told him this. He had expected to spend at least a week by himself.

“It was difficult, but I managed to convince the principal to let him stay in the closed off room of the fourth floor in the west building,” was saying Roderich when they entered through the great gates of the academy. Gilbert hadn’t expected it to be so big. “We’ll have to clean it up, since it hasn’t been opened for over a year.”

“Perfect, I’ll do it!” said Gilbert. Roderich stared at him.

“I expected you to put up a fight about it.”

“Of course not! I wouldn’t want my little brother to have to stay in some disgusting, moldy room. I’ll clean it. I’ll clean it perfectly until it’s the best room in the academy! Kesesese!”

Their room was on the east building, in the third floor. Inside, half of it was perfectly furnished with a very classic style, while the other half had only one bed with two boys uniforms on it and a simple dresser next to it.

“When will your parents be sending yours and your brother’s things?” asked Roderich. Gilbert opened the drawer in the dresser and found nothing inside. He slammed it close. Great.

“Are you deaf or what?”

“Excuse me?”

“I told you, I don’t exist for them. They’re not sending me shit.”

He opened his backpack and started to put his few clothes in the dresser.

“…I thought you were exaggerating.”

Gilbert paused. If he thought that, then his parents must not have told him the full story. That at least gave him some peace of mind. He shrugged.

“It’s not like I care. I’m fine by myself.”

He finished putting everything in its place and sat on the bed. Roderich watched him from the other side of the room with a look that Gilbert couldn’t understand.

“What? Now you’re pitying me?!”

“No,” said Roderich, and looked away. “I merely didn’t expect you to be this neat and tidy.”

Gilbert smirked. “Ha! I’m far more amazing than you would ever expect!”

“Now that’s going a bit too far. Here, this is your class schedule. We have to go pick your books so you can start classes tomorrow. You have already missed a lot and will have to work hard to catch up,” said Roderich. Gilbert put the schedule on the dresser and followed him out the room. “You will find that the level at W Academy is far higher than in Germany.”

“That’ll be no problem. I’m a genius.”

“And so very humble, right?”

Gilbert hit him softly on the shoulder. “Considering how awesome and amazing I am, I’m very humble.”

Roderich sighed.

They crossed the campus to get to the library and found a sad Spanish boy at the counter checking out books at a speed that was despairing to watch. He would take one book, check the title, enter it manually on the computer and slooowly stamp it. Roderich grabbed Gilbert’s arm.

“Ugh, they put Antonio in library duty. He must have done something to piss off Arthur. Maybe we should come back later to pick up your books.”

There were at least five people in line, and more kept coming, but the Spanish boy seemed unconcerned and kept his slow pace.

“Are you serious? Someone should tell him to hurry the hell up!”

“No, don’t mess with Antonio. He may look simple minded, but he’s also trouble, and I should remind you that trouble is the last thing you want.”

“Fine. Look, I’ll go stand in line and wait and I’ll meet you at the room, alright?”

“Do you even remember how to get there?”

“Of course I do! I told you, I’m a genius!”

“Hey! You guys there!” shouted Antonio loud enough for everyone in the two story library to hear him. “Keep quiet in the library!”

Everybody in line groaned.

“Is this guy an idiot or what?” muttered Gilbert.

“I’ve known him for two years and I’m still not sure.”

Gilbert went to stand in line and Roderich followed him. “You don’t have to stay with me.” Roderich was about to say something when a girl approached them. She had long brown hair with flowers in it, and Roderich’s eyes softened at the sight of her. Gilbert suddenly felt very alone.

“Hi Rod, is this your cousin that you were going to go pick up at the airport?”

“Yes. Elizabeta, this is Gilbert. Gilbert, this is Elizabeta, a classmate.”

She smiled at him, but Gilbert just growled an angry hello and looked away towards the line. An Italian looking boy had cut in line.

“Hey! Wait a second! He’s cutting in line!” he yelled. Behind him, Roderich groaned. Gilbert stomped to the counter. “Hey, are you listening to me?”

“Please keep quiet in the library,” he said tiredly. “I’ll check out all your books so don’t worry.”

“No, I’m sick of waiting,” he said, and jumped over the counter.

“¡Que joder tío! (What the hell dude!) What are you doing?!”

“Isn’t there some code scanner or something around here?” Gilbert rummaged under the counter.

“It’s broken, see?” said Antonio, holding up an unplugged scanner and trying to make it work. Gilbert concentrated all his rage in a single glare and took the scanner from him.

“Arschloch! You have to plug it in the computer!” he pushed Antonio away and set to check out books as fast as he could. In just a few minutes he was done with the whole queue. “Now, give me my books.”

“Uh? Ah! You must be the new guy!” Antonio smiled brightly and gave him a sealed package with his books inside. “Thank you! I’m not good with computers, and I’m alone here, so there was no one to ask about it.”

“That was surprising,” said Elizabeta. Next to her, Roderich stood silently, but Gilbert could see in his eyes that he was impressed. “I thought you were going to start a fight, but you solved everything so fast!”

Gilbert grinned. “Of course I did. I’m awesome!”

Antonio hugged him. “Please, stay with me until I close! I hate having library duty alone. I always finish very late because I have to do all the work! Please, please, just help me put the books away!”

Gilbert sighed. “Fine, I’ll help you,” he gave the package to Roderich. “I’ll see you at the room once we close.”

“Alright, but do try to stay out of trouble.”

They left together, and Gilbert felt annoyed at seeing them leave like that. How dared Roderich interrupt his perfect loneliness and then leave like that with some girl? Gilbert gritted his teeth, annoyed at his own senseless thoughts.

“Thank you, thank you,” chanted Antonio, picking up books. “I’m Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, but you can call me Toño, hehe.”

“Tonyo?” tried Gilbert. Antonio laughed.

“Tony’s fine too.”

“Yeah, whatever. I’m Gilbert Beildschmidt”

“Jilberrt Beldsshimt?”

“Gil. Just call me Gil.”

“¡Fantástico!”

Antonio showed him the most important parts of the library and quickly told him how it was organized and then went back to the counter. Long windows let in the light of the setting sun while Gilbert put everything in its place, and he suddenly found himself very tired. Even though he had slept a little in the plane, he had still been awake for over 16 hours and he started to regret agreeing to help the ditzy Spanish.

He yawned and then looked at the small pile of books he had left. Just a little more and he could go to sleep.

He heard voices from the first floor and looked over the rail to the counter, where some blonde guy with ugly eyebrows was arguing with Antonio. He couldn’t hear what they said clearly, but the tones sounded too aggressive. He left the books on a table and ran down the stairs, but by the time he reached the counter, the blonde guy was gone.

“What was that?” he asked. Antonio’s shoulders shook with barely controlled fury.

“That bastard Arthur, he says he’s closing down my gardening club! He says someone with such a bad conduct record like me can’t be president of a club and that the other members have left,” he kicked a chair. “I bet he scared them away! He’s been wanting to close my club since he became president of the student council!”

“Sounds like an asshole,” said Gilbert, unsure of what to do now. Antonio looked like a completely different person. His eyes looked cruel and cold, completely unlike the ditzy guy who had hugged him and begged him to stay just a few hours before.

“That’s it! I’m sick of him!” he came out of the counter and stalked towards the door. “¡Malnacido, voy a partirle toda la cara! (Son of a bitch, I’m going to break his face!)”

Gilbert knew roughly zero Spanish, but he knew when someone was going to break someone’s face, so he stood in front of Antonio and stopped him.

“Wait! No! I don’t know what your problem is with that guy, but this is what he wants.”

“What?”

“Don’t you see? He wants you to snap and go after him. Why else would he come here to taunt you? Don’t give him what he wants.”

Antonio seemed to consider this. “B-but what will I do now? I can’t be president of the club, and with no members it’s all over,” the anger was overcome by sadness, and Antonio started crying. “I just wanted to grow tomatoes for Lovino! Now he won’t be able to cook stuff from his house,” he sobbed and hugged Gilbert, who was so stunned by how strong Antonio was, he didn’t even resist. “He’ll pretend to be angry, but I know he’ll be sad and I can’t stand that!”

Gilbert tried to pull away, but the suffocating embrace was too much for his sleep deprived body.

“Aw, mon ami, leave that poor boy alone,” said some guy behind Gilbert. Antonio let go of him.

“Francis! Arthur closed my club!”

“I know, I know. That’s why I came here to see how you were doing.”

“This is awful! What am I going to do?”

“For now, not go after Arthur. He’s just looking for a reason to have you expelled.”

Antonio sniffled. “Si, Gil told me about that.”

The French guy looked at Gilbert, who waved weakly at him. “Ah, you must be the new guy. I heard about you from Roderich. I’m Francis. Mon dieu, you look like you’re about to faint. Non non, that’s enough for today. Let’s close up here and leave,” Francis hugged him. “We’ll think about what to do in the morning.”

They walked him to the entrance of the East dorms and Gilbert stumbled the rest of the way up. He opened the door to his room and found Roderich reading at his desk, already dressed to go to bed.

“I expected you to get back much later,” said Roderich.

“We didn’t finish putting everything away. Some guy named Arthur closed Antonio’s gardening club and I had to stop him from going after him,” said Gilbert, taking off his shirt and folding it carefully. Roderich sat up straight.

“Arthur closed the gardening club? I knew he was planning something, but that’s extreme!”

Gilbert shrugged and took off his pants, folding them too then putting everything in the lowest drawer of the dresser next to his bed. He pulled out the covers of the bed and Roderich stood up.

“You don’t have any night clothes?” he asked, and Gilbert wasn’t sure if he had actually asked him a question because by the time his sleep deprived brain had finished processing the question, Roderich was back with a black silk pajama for him.

“Uh, dun need it.”

“Just take it already,” and Roderich pushed the clothes into his hands. Too tired to argue, Gilbert sighed and put on the clothes. He was used to wearing stiff ironed pajamas, so the soft slippery feeling of the material against his skin made him feel strange. He didn’t dwell on it too much, since the moment his head touched the pillow, he sank into a deep sleep full of blackness and nothingness.

He had one small dream though, just before waking.

His little brother was smiling, and that was enough.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Roderich went back to his own bed and picked up his book.

“You should probably not get too close with Antonio though, he and Francis are-“ he looked at the other bed and found Gilbert had fallen asleep immediately. His features seemed to soften while asleep, but there was still a feeling of harshness about him.

Roderich sighed and looked at the night sky on the window beside his bed. He was looking forth to another long night of insomnia, but knowing there was someone else in the room made it a little bit better.

 


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Roderich dropped a glass of water on Gilbert's face.

Gilbert sat up sputtering and coughing.

"What the fuck?!" he growled and grabbed at Roderich's neck. "Asshole, you're so lucky we're related."

Roderich hit him in the face with the glass, and Gilbert let him go.

"You're late," said Roderich, straightening his white shirt. "I tried shaking you but you looked like you were in a coma."

"Ugh, changing time zones is a bitch," said Gilbert. "I'm taking a shower."

"But it's late! Just get dressed, we have ten minutes to get to class."

"I'll be ready in five," called Gilbert from the bathroom.

"Are you serious? Fine, do whatever you want. The classroom is at the building left from the entrance. I'm leaving."

"You do that little master."

Roderich slammed the door when he left. Three minutes later Gilbert came out of the shower, got dressed in two minutes more, was at the classroom building in three, and caught up with Roderich with a full minute to spare.

"There you are little master!" he said, and slapped Roderich's ass on the way inside the classroom.

"Stop that!"

"Kesesese! Calm down!" Gilbert waved him off and entered the classroom. At the back, a head of disheveled brown hair caught his attention. Antonio was chatting with some smiling plump blond boy, and Gilbert walked to the empty place next to him.

"Hey, Antonio!" he called, and set down his backpack on the desk, making the boy who had been sitting there jump. Gilbert hadn't seen him for some reason. "Oh, hey, sorry ´bout-"

Antonio stood up and grabbed the boy's shoulders. "Ah, Matthieu! Could you please let Gil sit here? Please, please, please!"

The boy blushed and looked down. "Uhm, yes, yes, of course. I'll just…go over there…," he said and got up to sit in an empty seat at the corner. Gilbert noticed he had a tiny write bear charm hanging from his book bag. He thought it was cute in a way.

"I'm so happy we're in the same class, Gil!" said Antonio, and Gilbert sat down. "I don't have many friends in classes. Let's be best friends!"

Gilbert blinked at the straightforward demand, and it took him a moment to smile back. "Yeah, sure, why the hell not?" he said. He had never had a best friend, other than his brother.

When he looked to the front he caught Roderich looking at them with wary eyes, and Gil remembered how he had told him that Antonio was trouble.

But then, people had always said that about him.

The first two classes passed slowly. Antonio fell asleep in the second one, but Gilbert hit him with a rubber band to wake him before the teacher saw him. The look that Antonio gave him spelled cold murder, but Gilbert answered with an equally harsh glare.

It was the most fun he'd had in years.

When the bell for lunch rang, Francis appeared at their classroom and waved for them to come out with him. Antonio and Gilbert picked up their things and followed him.

"I have great news, my dears," he said, tossing his hair away from his face. A group of girls passing giggled and he winked at them.

"Hey, get going. Flirt later," said Gilbert. Antonio snickered.

"Fine, fine. I checked the school rules and kindly pointed to Arthur that you still can be president of the gardening club. You need four bad points in your record to lose the chance to be president at any school club, and you only have three. So, it was a good thing you didn't go after Arthur yesterday. He would have had you completely then."

Antonio's eyes brightened, and he hugged Francis. "Yes! Yes! It's not all lost! ¡Gracias Fracis! (Thank you Francis!)"

"Don't get too happy yet, Antonio," said Francis, pushing Antonio away and becoming too serious all of a sudden. "Arthur wasn't lying when he said all the members of the club had left. They did. You're the only one in the club now, and if you don't get at least 3 people in by Friday, it's over."

"¡Ah, joder! (Ah fuck!) I can't believe this! Francis, you have to sign up with me!"

"Already did, but don't expect me to actually do anything. It's just a formality to help you now."

"Thaaaank youuuu!" he turned to Gilbert. "Gil! You have to sign up with me too!"

"What? But I know fuck all about gardening!"

"It doesn't matter! I'll do all the work, don't worry about it."

"Hmmm…, fine. But I want something in exchange."

"Anything!"


	4. Chapter 4

That afternoon the three of them opened the room at the top floor of the west building. A mouse scurried in front of them while Gil felt around for the light switch.

"That mouse's got to go," muttered Gil. He looked in disgust at the spider webs all around the ceiling and the thick layer of dust covering everything.

"We've got to go," said Francis, not wanting to even take a single step into the room.

Gilbert had asked for help to clean the room just to ask for something and not seem like he'd do anything Antonio would ask for, but now he realized what a good idea it had been.

"No way. My little brother's arriving tomorrow, so this place has to be sparkling today!" he gave each of the other ones a mop and entered the room.

They found the mouse easily, and put it in a small box with holes for the time being, because it was too cute, and they realized that they didn't have it in their hearts to do anything too mean to it.

Francis named it Coco, and Antonio gave it a small piece of cheese he found in one of his pockets. Gilbert huffed and demanded they get back to work.

Francis opened the window to let the air in and set to cleaning all the surfaces. Antonio moped the floor, and Gilbert tried to fix the broken closet door that hung awkwardly from its hinges.

"Isn't there a better room? This place sucks. I don't want my little brother to have to live here alone in some abandoned room," said Prussia. He pushed at the closet door and set it in place.

"I'm sorry dear, but all the other ones are taken. You two were not expected, so finding accommodations has been a challenge. But, may I ask, why the sudden transfer here?"

"Meh, just…,some trouble at our last school. Our parents…," said Prussia, trying to find a way to not say anything too incrimitatory for him or his brother. Suddenly Antonio got up and crossed the room in just a few strides to get to Francis and hit him in the head. "What the hell?!"

"Don't ask him stuff like that! You know I hate it when you're manipulative like that. Geez, you're becoming too much like Arthur!" said Antonio to Francis, then he looked at Gilbert. "Don't mind it Gil. He's secretary of the school council. Whatever your parents told the school, he knows it."

Gilbert glared at Francis. "Fucker."

"Now, now," said Francis, holding up his hands. "I just wanted to hear it from you. I thought I'd hear things from your point of view. But you don't have to tell me anything. I'll just tell you that all the teachers have been instructed to keep an eye on you and to be more strict than usual with discipline. Hall monitors might give you a hard time too, since Arthur told them all to stop you for any infraction to the discipline code, no matter how small."

"Sheisse," muttered Gilbert, slinking to the floor against the closet door. "So, no new start at all, uh?"

Antonio sat down next to him and patted his head. "Don't feel down Gil! Nobody else knows anything about whatever happened before! I have no idea!"

Francis sat down in front of them with a serene smile. "You don't have any idea about anything most of the time, you dork!" he said and laughed. Antonio pouted.

Gilbert realized he really liked their company. Like that, not saying anything meaningful, and yet understanding everything. He smiled.

"Well, whatever. I was an asshole, did some bad stuff and I'm paying my time here. My little brother's arriving tomorrow and we have to make sure this shitty place is good enough for him. Now let's get going!"

He hurried them and in little more than an hour they had cleaned the place completely. They called the janitor to fix the bathroom and make sure there was hot water in the shower. Then Francis got some nice roses and a vase to decorate the dresser, and a small carpet to put in the center of the room. It looked much better than Gilbert's own half of the room with Roderich had, which made him feel better about the whole thing.

It was dark when they closed the door to Gilbert's brother's room and left for their own.

"I'll be signing you up for the gardening club," said Francis, rolling the keys in his index finger. "But remember Antonio, you still need two more people by this Friday."

"I'll find someone!" said Antonio, smiling.

"Maybe Lovino would like to-"

"No. Please don't tell any of this to him! I don't want him to worry."

Francis sighed. "Fine, but he'll probably find out on his own."

Gilbert scratched his head. He was covered in dust. "Who is this Lovino? You mentioned him yesterday."

Antonio blushed and looked down. "W-well, Lovino is this guy. We were neighbors for a while when we were kids and I ran into him here. Could you believe that? It's like, destiny!"

"So you like him?"

"Eeeh? Well, I…hmmm…."

"You do."

Antonio looked away, and Gilbert knew he didn't just like him. He was in love with him. The thought made him smile even more.


	5. Chapter 5

They separated outside the dorms and Gilbert headed straight to his own. He found Roderich already at his bed, reading something.

"Where have you been all day?" he asked, and slammed the book closed. Gilbert smirked.

"Cleaning the room for Ludwig."

"Yeah, sure. I saw you leave with Antonio and Francis."

"Because we were cleaning together. Also, I'm on the gardening club with Antonio now," Gilbert took off his shirt and put it in a corner. No way was he putting it with the rest of his clothes, and luckily he had another pair of uniform pants, because the ones he wore were gray with dust.

"But didn't Arthur close that club?"

"Francis found that Antonio hadn't had enough offenses or whatever to be kicked out. But he needs more members. You feel like joining us in the garden princess?"He opened the dresser to put his cross and found two more white shirts than he'd had that morning. The black silk pajama was folded not very neatly under them.

Roderich huffed, pointedly not looking at him. "I don't think so. I'm not fond of playing with dirt and plants."

"Dude, what's this?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Gilbert took out the shirts. One of them had some weird ruffles at the collar. "Look, I…it's nice and all that you want to help me but…"

"Help? I am merely following orders. I was told to ensure you uphold a well behaved image, and it is impossible to do so with only two shirts."

Gilbert threw the shirts back on the drawer. Well, that explained it. He felt like an idiot for thinking Roderich was pitying him.

"I see. I'm gonna take a shower now. You go to sleep now like the good little master you are, asshole."

He entered the bathroom and slammed the door behind him.

Roderich remained in bed. He looked down to the book in his hands, and caressed the pages. It had been stupid of him to think that Gilbert would appreciate his help, but he had not expected this jump between emotions from him. Ashamed at needing help, and then rage at Roderich having to provide it. But of course, his own attempt at saving his own pride by pretending that Gilbert's parents had asked him to help only made things worse.

Roderich turned the page. He had long since ceased to make sense of the ideas in the book, and now saw only senseless words. He had gone to sleep at 2a.m. the night before, catching around three hours of sleep more than usual. But it had only left him more tired and irritable.

Gilbert came out of the shower in only his underwear, toweling his hair.

"Why are you naked?!" yelled Roderich.

Gilbert raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm not naked," he pointed at his blue boxers with tiny white birds printed on them.

"Put on a pajama."

"Nuhuh. Don't think so. I don't need to uphold a well behaved image in here, do I?" he folded the towel and left it on top of the dresser. Roderich noticed how well defined the muscles in his back were as then moved when he passed a hand through his hair, looking at himself in the mirror. When he turned around, Roderich buried his nose in the book.

Gilbert took his cross back from the dresser and put it on. "Don't glare at me like that, princess," he said, and winked at Roderich with a mischievous smirk. "We'll keep my bad behavior between us, alright?"

"Idiot."

Gilbert laughed, and went to bed.

Roderich stayed in his own bed, caressing his book. The words he saw on the page slowly lost sense until all he could see was letters standing together. He was alone with his thoughts, and the darkness.

And Gilbert's breathing.

He looked over to his side of the room and saw he was fast asleep. He wondered if it was some lingering jet lag that allowed him to fall asleep so fast. Because how could someone who had beaten a man so badly fall asleep like that? Gilbert's conscience must be completely absent if it didn't whisper at him at night.

Like Roderich's did.

He sighed deeply, and focused on the sounds of Gilbert's breathing. Steady and soft. In and out.

Looking at Gilbert's back rising and falling rhythmically, Roderich felt mesmerized. His mind followed the rhythm of each breath, while his eyes traced the shadows projected by the lamp light from his side if the room.

His eyelids felt heavy.

Before he knew it, Roderich had slipped into a dream where he traced every curve and every shadow with the tip of his fingers, feeling the pale skin shivering under every touch.


	6. Chapter 6

Gilbert spent every single class looking at the clock above the blackboard. He heard Antonio snickering next to him, but he couldn’t care any less. He had to be on time to pick up his little brother and Roderich wouldn’t go with him. He had looked like shit in the morning, and Gilbert had forced him to go to the nurse.

He chewed on his pencil while he thought about the tired look on Roddy’s face earlier. He felt a little bad about getting pissed off at him. He realized he didn’t actually knew who started being an asshole first, but habit told him it was probably him. Not that he would accept it at any moment soon. Or ever.

The bell shook him from his thoughts.

“Come on, garden president,” he told Antonio, elbowing him. Francis had convinced a few teachers to let all three of them go get his brother from the airport, for which he was thankful. Although the ease with with Francis softly shifted the lines of rules here and there did worry Gilbert a little.

Antonio gave him one of his usual smiles that made him look more than a little dim witted, and got up.

“Ah, you look so cute, all worried about your little brother!” he said.

“Of course! I’m the older brother! I always take care of him, because I am the best older brother ever!” said Gilbert proudly.

Francis waited for them at the entrance of the school, and they took a cab to the airport, but got stuck in traffic for a while. Someone had hit a stop sign and the police had closed off a lane. Gilbert whined.

“Why must people be stupid?” he said. “Now we’ll be late to pick up Lud!”

Francis sighed. “I can’t wait until we pick him up and get him to school,” he said. “So you can finally shut up about him.”

Gilbert stuck his tongue at him. It had taken him no time to see that Francis didn’t actually mean much of what he said. Antonio patted him in the back.

“Ah, Gil, don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll be fine,” he said. Gilbert sighed and tried to smile.

They arrived at the airport an hour later, and there was no one at the gate. Gilbert threw his hands up in despair and was going to start ranting, when Francis covered his mouth.

“Now mon cher, before we start despairing,” he whispered in Gilbert’s ear. From so close, the scent of roses from him was almost overwhelming. “Let’s try and ask for help, alright?”

Francis let go of him and with a smile pointed to a help desk nearby, where a young brunette sat looking bored. He went ahead and with his most charming smile said “Hello, madam. Excuse us, but my friend here lost his little brother,” he pointed at Gilbert. The lady blushed and giggled.

“Of course, don’t worry,” she turned to Gilbert and froze at the sight of him. Gilbert looked away. He was mostly used at being stared at, being a red eyed albino, but it was still uncomfortable.

The woman cleared her throat and looked away from Gilbert’s eyes.

“And how does your little brother look like dear?” she asked without looking at him.

_Not like a weird monster kid like me, don’t worry_ Gilbert wanted to say, but he bit his tongue. He had to find Ludwig and he had no time to pick fights.

“Uh, he’s tall and blonde…” he started saying, when he heard a faint chirping behind them. He whirled around to find Ludwig walking towards them with a huge suitcase in one hand, and a golden cage in the other. The tiny yellow bird inside started chirping excitedly.

“Lud! Gil!” cried Gilbert, and ran to hug his brother. “You brought him, I can’t believe it! Thank you thank you thank you!”

Ludwig let go of his suitcase to wrap an arm around his brother in a half hug.

“Sorry. I had to fill some paperwork for him and it took a while,” he said.

Antonio and Francis stared wide eyed at the huge wall of german muscles that was Gilbert’s little brother.

“I’m so happy. Let’s get out of here, he’s sick of the cage,” he picked up the golden cage and looked at the bird inside. “Right, pal?” the bird chirped.

“It can…understand you?” asked Francis. Gilbert turned around with a huge smile in his face.

“Oh yeah, let’s introduce you guys. Ludwig, these are Antonio and Francis. Guys, this is my little brother Ludwig. And this, is Gilbird, my best friend ever.”

“Hi” said Antonio and Francis at the same time, in monotone.

Ludwig blushed and looked down.

The peeping became louder, and mixed with something that sounded strangely like growling. Antonio and Francis huddled closer together.

Gilbert pulled up the cloth covering and a tiny yellow bird flew up against the cage, as excited as his owner.

"Aww baby you missed me? I missed you too!"

Gilbert opened the cage and it flew out straight to his head, where it made itself comfortable among Gilbert's hair. He turned around to show it to his friends.

"Guys! Look! This is Gilbird, my bird twin"

"What?" Squeaked Francis.

"If I was a bird, I would be him, and if he was a human, he would be me. I'm sure of it!"

"A-alright..."

Ludwig picked up the suitcase. "My brother has a very intense love of birds," he explained. The others decided to not question it.

The second they stepped outside the airport Gilbert opened the cage and out flew the tiny bird. He flew in a few circles over them and then graciously descended to the top of Gilbert's head.

"Can I pet him?" asked Francis.

"Of course!" said Gilbert, and bowed a little. Francis petted the little bird softly, amazed at how smart he seemed.

"He's so cute! I wanna pet him too!" said Antonio, almost jumping from excitement. He also petted Gilbird, and rubbed his neck softly too. Gilbird made happy cooing sounds at that, and Antonio laughed. They took a cab back to the academy. Gilbert spent the entire trip back talking about embarrassing moments of his brother's childhood, while Ludwig spent it alternatively blushing and trying to strangle Gilbert.

Once they reached the Academy, Gilbert tried to carry his brother's suitcase, but it weighted roughly the same as he did.

"Dude, you don't own this much stuff," he complained and took up the birdcage instead. Ludwig nodded.

"I don't," he said, as the four of them climbed the stairs up to the last floor. "But I brought some of your clothes too."

"What? Seriously? But dad-"

"He didn't ask about the overweight charge," said Ludwig. Gilbert gritted his teeth. He could imagine that he hadn't noticed the amount of stuff Ludwig brought until the suitcase had been weighted. He could also imagine the cold stares between the two, even if neither had said anything.

"You shouldn't have. I'm fine. We wear uniforms, so it's not like I need much," said Gilbert, suddenly embarrassed by Lud’s gesture. His brother nodded at him as they climbed the last flight of stairs, and Gilbert saw that he wanted to say something.

“Antonio and Francis helped me get your room ready for you, right guys?” said Gilbert, before his brother could open his mouth.

“Ah, it was nothing,” said Antonio, with a big grin on his face. “We also found you a pet!”

“Found me a pet?” asked Lud. When they opened the door to his room, Antonio ran to the small carton box on the dresser next to the bed. Lud went to see, intrigued.

“I named him Tomatillo,” said Antonio, opening the box. Inside, a tiny gray mouse squealed.

“And I told him that was a stupid name,” said Gilbert. On top of his head, Gilbird chirped in agreement.

“It’s not a stupid name! Tomatoes are cute, and he’s cute, so-“

“He’s not going to be named that, it’s dumb. Name him something else Lud.”

“Noooo.”

Ludwig shook his head with a small smile. “I’ll think about it,” he said with a tone of finality. Antonio stuck his tongue at Gilbert, who did the same.

“My darlings, this has been such a great meeting, but I’m afraid I must leave you now. I have students’ association things to do. Very boring things, but they must be done,” said Francis, shaking his gorgeous hair away from his face. “And you,” he pointed at Antonio. “Have to sign some disciplinary slips. Don’t think I’ve forgotten.”

“Awww, Fraaancisss,” whined Antonio. He left the box on the dresser.

“Non non. If you don’t sign them Arthur will have _my_ head instead, so come on.”

Ludwig stood straighter. “It was a pleasure to meet you,” he said. Gilbert bit his lip. They were going to be left alone and he did not like that. He needed an excuse and he needed it now.

“Ah! I just remembered. Roderich went to the nurse. I have to go look for him. He looked pretty bad earlier.”

“Who?” asked his brother.

“Our cousin…sort of. He’ll explain it when I introduce you two. Anyway, I have to go too.”

“But brother-“

“I’ll see you tomorrow at class. We have two classes together tomorrow!”

Gilbert ushered his friends out and waved his brother good bye before he closed the door. In the hallway outside the faint light from the sunset faded, and no lights had turned on. Francis looked up at the lightbulbs.

“I’ll talk to the janitors about this. Maybe they’re broken,” he said. Gilbert noded.


	7. Chapter 7

Ludwig closed the door and let his hand linger on the doorknob for a few moments, thinking of how he could breach the topic to his brother, when he was so determined to avoid the issue all together.

He took a deep breath and went to his bed, where he pulled up his bag from the floor and started taking out clothes. He had to put everything in order first, before he tried to put order in his life. He would finish unpacking, take a bath, oh and he also had to feed the mouse his brother and his friends had found in the room. Why hadn’t they just released him in the gardens was beyond him though. He looked to the dresser, and found the small carton box empty.

He froze, listening for any squealing or shuffling of tiny feet.

He had to find it. If anyone else saw it, they would just kill the poor thing. He knelt down and looked under the bed. Nothing. The closet and the bathroom were empty as well, and he started to get worried. He bit his lower lip, trying to remember the last time he saw the mouse. His brother’s Spanish friend had petted it, then left it back on the dresser. Had the door been open then? It probably was, but then there were few chances he would find it.

He opened the door and took a look at the dark corridor outside his room. The only light was at the stairs, pretty far. He gritted his teeth and walked towards the stairs as quietly as possible. How was he going to explain to his brother and his friends that he’d lost the pet they’d given him right away? They would surely think he was irresponsible. He saw a small shape at the stairs, and noticed a small tail curling. It was the mouse. It had to be.

He quickened his pace, still trying to be as quiet as possible as to not scare the little thing. He was just a couple steps away when the mouse noticed him and ran down the stairs. Ludwig almost swore as he ran down the stairs after it. He heard voices from the lower floors, and knew he had to catch it before anyone saw it but-. He halted as he almost ran into a pair of Italian looking boys arguing in the middle of the hallway.

“Well someone’s got to take it and I sure as hell am sick of always-“ the taller of the two was grabbing the other’s shirt with one hand and gesturing wildly with the other while the smaller one lifted his hands to cover his face.

“Hey! Let him go!” he called. The threatening boy looked up to glare at him, but a single look at Ludwig and he let go of the other’s shirt.

“W-what do you want?!” he yelled, clearly scared of him; but Ludwig was used to people being scared of him, ever since he had started growing far taller than the other boys in his class and even his brother.

“You shouldn’t bully those weaker than you!”

“I-I wasn’t bullying him! He’s my brother. Tell him Feliciano!”

The shorter one looked at Ludwig with teary eyes and nodded.

“That’s even worse. That’s no way to treat your brother!”

The shorter boy shook his head, still sniffling. “I’m fine. We were just… we were just arguing. We’re alright, really,” he said.

His brother turned away. “Whatever. We’ll talk later, when nosy brutes don’t get in our conversations,” he said, and left.

“B-but Lovino!,” called the other boy, and took a couple steps towards him, but then all strength seemed to leave him, and he leaned against the wall. Ludwig suddenly felt ashamed of his actions.

“I’m…sorry for interfering between your brother and you,” he said.

“No, I’m… kind of happy you did it. I… heh, that was a conversation I didn’t want to have like that,” he said, smiling up at him. “He gets like that some times. It’s better that he calms down before we talk. You did sort of save me there, thank you. I’m Feliciano Vargas, and that was my brother Lovino Vargas.”

Ludwig blushed and looked away. “Ah, well, it was nothing. I was just looking for my mouse and-“

“Mouse?!” Feliciano’s face lost all color.

“It’s a very small one! Really small, and it doesn’t bite or anything,” he said quickly, trying to calm him.

“Are you sure? Really, really sure?”

“Yes, of course. It…,” he saw a small shape moving behind Feliciano. “There it is, let me catch it and-“

Feliciano screamed and jumped over Ludwig, who caught him in his arms.

“It’s behind me?!”

“Wait, no!”

The mouse screeched and tried to run up the stairs, but Ludwig stepped in front of him. If it ran up to the dark corridor, he would never catch it, but with the little Italian he could barely move. He left him down to the side and tried to grab the mouse, but it ran between his legs straight at Feliciano, who backed against a wall screaming in terror. The small mouse ran up Feliciano’s pant leg, and Ludwig had never seen anyone so terrified in his life.

 “Get it off me! Get it off me!” he screamed, and took off his pants

“Wait! Stop screaming!” Ludwig tried to calm him down, but Feliciano had already taken off his pants and thrown them at him all the while crying and screaming. Ludwig felt his face turning red as he held the boy’s pants up to inspect them.

And that was how Lovino found them, having run back when he heard his brother screaming.

“YOU BASTARD! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY BROTHER?!”


	8. Chapter 8

Ludwig tapped his knees as he waited sitting in front of the student council president’s desk. He hadn’t even been in the country for a full day, and he was already in huge trouble. It seemed like a curse to him. Things went wrong when he didn’t act, and also when he did. Though he decided quickly that all this drama was much better than…

The door to the office opened, and a blonde boy with bushy eyebrows walked in, followed by Gilbert’s French friend from the other day.

“Ludwig Beilschmidt,” he said, leaving a bunch of papers on his desk and sitting down. “it seems I was warned about the wrong brother,” he said, and Ludwig clenched his fists. He was about to growl back that he’d better not drag Gilbert into this, when he felt warm hands embracing him from behind.

“He’ll be fine, right Arthur?” asked Feliciano, and Ludwig felt his face heating. “I told you, it was an accident! I didn’t mean to get naked, I just had to take off my pants!”

Ludwig looked down and covered his blushing face. This was too humiliating.

“Yes, yes, Feliciano. I told you to wait outside,” said Arthur. Next to him, Francis tried to hide a knowing smirk.

“I’m really sorry for all this, Lud,” said Feliciano, rubbing his face against Ludwig’s hair and hugging him harder. It all made his heart beat faster. “I’m sorry you lost your mouse because of me.”

Arthur leaned back on his chair, looking down at them. The way he condescendingly lifted an ugly eyebrow at them, along with the way Francis seemed to coo over them made Ludwig beg the earth to just swallow him right there.

“Just get out of here already you both. And I don’t want any more issues about getting naked in the hallways. Mice or no mice, alright?”

Ludwig nodded, got up, and left with the little Italian still clinging to his arm.

“I’ll cook you something nice to make up for this! The gourmet club sometimes lets me use their kitchen!”

“You don’t have to do that,” said Ludwig tiredly. He tried to shake his arm lightly, but the boy didn’t seem to catch on and kept holding on to him.

“It’s nothing, and I’m really really sorry. You helped me with Lovino, and I just got you sent to Arthur’s office.”

Footsteps sounded as if someone was running down the stairs from the higher floors, and Ludwig stopped to the side. Down came running his brother and Antonio, with little Gilbird flying close behind.

“Bro! Where were you? I’ve been looking everywhere for you. What’s this about you assaulting someone?” asked Gilbert, and Ludwig knew he must be worried out of his mind.

“It was a misunderstanding brother, really,” he said.

“Oy, Feli! What are you doing here?” asked Antonio suddenly, petting the Italian with a look of adoration.

“Hi Antonio. I got Ludwig in trouble because I took off my pants and threw them at him, but I was so scared I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

Gilbert and Antonio gaped at him, and Ludwig covered Feliciano’s mouth. “You’re making it worse,” he said, then turned to his brother. “The mouse you gave me escaped, and I was trying to catch it when I ran into Feliciano and his brother, and the mouse ran up his leg, so he took off his pants. It’s… I know how ridiculous it sounds, but it’s true.”

Feliciano nodded in agreement. Gilbert let out a breath, and Gilbird chirped, flying in circles over his head. “Really? The mouse ran up his leg and he took of his clothes?” he laughed.

“I was scared! Don’t laugh!” whined Feliciano, and buried his face against Ludwig’s jacket.

“Oh, I want Feli to hug me too!” complained Antonio. Gilbert took a good look at Feliciano for the first time, and smiled.

“He _is_ really cute. I want a hug too!”

“No, me first!”

A book came out of nowhere and hit Antonio in the head, making him fall down on the stair steps.

“Bastard!” yelled Lovino. Feliciano stiffened, and hid behind Ludwig. “I was worried about you getting molested and here you are clinging to your attacker! All after making me look like the bad brother!”

“He didn’t attack him!” said Gilbert.

“And who the hell are you? Another German bastard?”

Gilbert laughed. “Well, aren’t you cute? Do you always go around throwing things and swearing at people?” he said, petting him like Antonio had done to Feliciano. “Even this angry you’re really hot, it must be an Italian thing.”

Antonio grasped his wrist in an iron grip, and Gilbert’s face contorted in pain mixed with worry. “Ah Gil, I’ve been meaning to introduce you to Lovino for a while,” said Antonio with a sharp smile, pulling Gilbert’s hand away from Lovino. He was bleeding from where the book had hit him, but seemed to pay it no mind.

“W-wha-“

“I think,” said Ludwig, very loud, and staring pointedly at the way Antonio was grabbing his brother’s wrist. “We should all get going. Especially you Antonio, that bleeding looks bad. Brother, would you come with me for a moment?” he asked, his tone leaving no room for a negative, then pushed away Feliciano. His patience had reached it’s end after everything that had happened.

Antonio let go of his brother. "Si, I believe I'm not thinking clearly. I'll go to the nurse," he said with a far more relaxed smile. Gilbert pulled his hand up against his chest, laughing nervously.  
"S-sure, let's go," he said and followed his brother.  
"Seriously? That hurt you so bad?" Asked Lovino, looking worriedly at the thing trail of blood on Antonio's forehead. "I've- i've done worse and you don't even... Seem to notice..." He said, looking down. Coming from him, that was as close to an apology as he could give, so Antonio ruffled his hair.  
"I'm just a little dizzy corazón (my heart)"  
"D-don't call me that, you idiot! It's embarrassing!" said Lovino, and they both headed towards the nurse's office.  
At the middle of the hallway remained Feliciano.  
Alone.  



	9. Chapter 9

"That guy's crazy strong!" Muttered Gilbert, rubbing at his wrist.

Ludwig stopped and grabbed him to take a look at his wrist. It was a bit red but nothing more.

"Maybe you should go to the nurse's office too," he said, rubbing his thumb over the redness. Were his brother's wrists always this small? "He shouldn't have been so rough. I should have-"

"Nah, I'm fine. I just didn't think he was that strong. Anyway, I have to go to class now."

"Brother, we should talk," he started, but Gilbert stepped away from him.

"Later. I really have to go now," he said, but Ludwig pulled on his sleeve to stop him.

"No, we have to talk now."

"Just let it go Lud."

"I can't! Bruder you don't understand. I know you're trying to protect me, but I can't-"

"Gilbert?" Called someone from the top of the stairs and Ludwig let go of his brother's sleeve.

"Hey, Roderich. Come on, let me introduce you to my little brother!"

A thin, perfectly polished boy with glasses walked slowly down the stairs. He had an annoying expression on his face, a mix of condescension and disgust that Ludwig thought might make him look aloof and uptight, but with the dark circles under his eyes, he just looked sick and mildly angry.

"Ludwig, this is Roderich Edelstein. We're like, far cousins or something."

Roderich pushed up his glasses. "We're third cousins from the first marriage of your great grandfather's second marriage grandsons, from your father's side of the family."

Ludwig lifted his eyebrows at that. "I...see..."

"A pleasure to meet you, Ludwig. You're the only thing your brother talks about."

"Uhm, thanks?"

Gilbert patted them both on the back. "Well that was a very heartwarming exchange, but I think Roderich was trying to drag me back to class, right?"

"Yes, but if you're-"

"No, no, I'll go now," he grabbed Roderich's arm and started to leave. "See you later little brother!"

Ludwig huffed, and went on to his own class. Breaching the subject to his brother would be much harder than he anticipated.


	10. Chapter 10

"Come on, the next class is about to start," said Gilbert, pulling Roderich behind him.

"Wait, you're going too fast. Let's rest for a moment," said Roderich, huffing, already out of air. He had the worst condition Gilbert had ever seen.

"Rest? We went down a flight of stairs! We'll never make it to class on time," he said, looking at his cousin up and down. The guy was sweating, for goodness sake! "Looks like I'll have to carry you, Princess."

"What?"

"Come here."

Without even letting Roderich say another word, he hefted him over his shoulder.

"Oof, Princess, you're heavier than you seem," he said.

"Stop this nonsense right now! Let me down!" cried Roderich.

"Nuh-uh. Gotta get you back to class on time."

He ran down the stairs with Roderich screaming in terror over his shoulder. They reached the first floor hallway and Gilbert started looking for the classroom. A look at the clock at the end of the hallway told him they had about four minutes to arrive. More than enough for him, even if his cousin's weight slowed him a bit.

"Let me down!"

"Oh stop screaming already," said Gilbert and slapped his ass, which made Roderich screech and hit at his back uselessly.

"He might stop screaming if you let him down," said a cold voice behind him.

"Elizaveta!" gasped Roderich. When Gilbert turned around he saw her standing in the middle of the hallway arms crossed in defiance.

"Hey. I'm just stealing him for a moment. I'll give him back after class."

Elizaveta smirked. "I wouldn't let you steal him for even a moment."

Gilbert narrowed his eyes. It seemed like this was his day to get between jealous lovers. But really, what was wrong with her? The guy was his cousin! How more insecure could you get?

"Well then, you've got to catch me first," he said, and ran to the exit.

"What?!" yelled Elizaveta, but soon Gilbert heard the sounds of her footsteps close behind. He turned to the left, dodged a group of girls, and ran out the emergency exit into the back garden, kicking the door shit behind him. He heard Elizaveta slam against it and almost cackled, but saved his breath. He ran to where he could see trees growing closer together. Gilbird peeped, and a chorus of birds started singing all around the garden. Gilbert smirked, and made his way faster through the bushes. They came upon a small place behind a bush where he let Roderich down and sat down next to him.

"Shut up," he ordered. Roderich glared at him. His perfectly combed hair was a mess, and his uniform was all wrinkled.

"I wasn't saying anything," he replied in a low whisper. Gilbert realized that indeed, Roderich had stopped screaming when he ran away from Elizaveta.

They sat together among the bushes, listening to the far off singing of birds, until the sounds stopped.

"How long-?" strarted Roderich, but Gilbert put a hand over his mouth.

"Shut. Up," said Gilbert. Roderich went red, but Gilbert didn't care. If he wanted to go back to his girlfriend he could have at least tried to escape. Gilbert wouldn't have stopped him.

...Maybe.

Gilbird came flying down and settled himself on top of his head.

"Is she gone?" He asked the little bird, and received a small peep as response. "Good. I couldn't carry him anymore," said Gilbert, leaning against a tree.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" said Roderich. He looked more ridiculous than ever, all disheveled and sweaty, but still with that haughty look.

"It means you're way heavier than you look, my princess."

Roderich blushed. "I'm not fat!"

"I found you!" yelled Elizaveta, jumping over the bush they were hiding behind. Gilbert's heart jumped to his throat. He tried to get up but Elizaveta kicked him lightly on the chest and he fell backwards.

"And now, he's mine," she said, pulling Roderich up. Gilbird flew in front of her, chirping angrily, but Gilbert whistled softly, and he flew back to the top of his head.

"Joke's on you, we're cousins so he kind of was mine first," he said with a smirk.

Elizaveta glared down at him, then glared at Roderich. "I guess he's right," she said. Then she pulled Roderich off his feet bridal style. "But for now, I'm taking away MY princess."

"What are you doing Elizaveta?!" cried Roderich.

"Saving you from your evil cousin, my dear," she said.

Gilbert's mouth fell open when he saw the ease with which she carried Roderich away.

"Is everyone in this school crazy strong?!"


	11. Chapter 11

Arthur Kirkland glared down his window at the three figures in the garden.

"Oh hon hon," laughed Francis behind him. "Those two brothers seem to stir the hearts of everyone they meet," he said.

Arthur growled and stomped away from the window.

"They're a bother. Just like Antonio. Now there's three of them making a mess of my school," he said, picking up his book bag. "And don't think I don't know you signed up for Antonio's stupid club."

"Aww, mon ami. It seems like you're angrier at the fact that little Gilbert stopped him from coming after you," said Francis. Arthur gritted his teeth. "And after you worked so hard to drive away all the member of his club and spread all those rumors about him."

"I merely said the truth that he's been hiding. He's a danger to the students, and no matter what, I will have him gone."

Francis gave him a sad smile, and touched his shoulder lightly when he passed him on his way to the door. "Ah mon cher. I only wish you two would stop being a danger to each other," he said.

Arthur let his book bag fall to the floor.

Francis knew.

He knew.

He had to.

Did Antonio tell him? No, he couldn't be that reckless. Or could he?

Suddenly, Arthur had no strength to get out of the office. He couldn't face anyone now. He would see faces and know that any of them might see right into him. Right into all his secrets.


	12. Chapter 12

Gilbert didn't see Roderich at all for the rest of the day, but when he went back to their room he was already dressed up in his pajamas and had dozed off with a book on his lap.

Gilbert smiled, and gently took the book off him, leaving it on the dresser next to him.

It was a cold night, and he was tired. He put on the black silk pajama that Roderich had given him.

It gave him a strange feeling of comfort that he had never experienced before.

Sort of how it felt when he went to sleep listening to Roderich’s breathing.

 

He woke up when he felt a weight on top of him, and opened his eyes to see bright green eyes looking down at him. He tried to scream, but Antonio covered his mouth. On the dresser, Gilbird tweeted excitedly.

"Don't scream, I came to apologize," said Antonio with a kind smile that seemed almost surreal given the fact that he had climbed on top of him while he slept.

"Mhmmfff?" Mumbled Gilbert. He tried to push him off but he couldn't get any leverage from his position. On the edge of his vision he saw Gilbird fly to the top of Antonio's head. He stopped fighting back.

"For yesterday. I'm really, really sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you and I couldn't stop thinking about it all night."

"Hmff?"

"You've been so nice to me, and you're my best friend, but I kind of have a problem."

Gilbert frowned and pointed to his covered mouth. Antonio let go of him.

"Dude, you have a lot of problems if this is how you apologize to people," he said.

"I couldn't wait. And I didn't want to talk with other people present. If anyone saw or heard, they might... Well, you don't know Lovino very well."

"Antonio, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I have anger management problems! Very bad anger management problems. And now that I'm around Lovino it has only gotten worse. I get so jealous over everything, and now I even hurt you," he said, and collapsed face forward on the empty space next to Gilbert, whining.

"That's... bad. Maybe you should go see a psychologist?" said Gilbert, patting his head.

"I've been seeing the school psychologist, but it hasn't helped."

"So you're in theraphy already?"

"Uh, no. We just have had a couple sessions. She made me do a few tests."

"What?! Then of course you aren't getting better! This shit takes time man, you've got to be patient!"

The bathroom door opened, and Roderich walked out, wearing a robe and a towel around his shoulders. He took one look at them, and gasped.

"W-what's going on?!"

"Nothing," said Gilbert.

"Nothing?! What is he doing all over you?!"

"He's having an emotional moment. Just... wait in the bathroom for a moment, ok?"

"But-"

Antonio whined loudly against the duvet. "I need some privacy!"

Roderich made an exasperated sound and threw his hands on the air. "Fine! I don't care!" he said, and went back to the bathroom.

"Look man," said Gilbert, pushing himself up from the bed. "This is really not a good place or time to talk about your anger management problems, or your relationship issues.  How about we talk about it at lunch, or-"

"No! I can't! Lovino has spies everywhere!"

"What?!"

"Well, not him. His family. Him and his  brother are always watched."

Gilbert suddenly didn't like Antonio's relationship with Lovino. At all.

"Look, we'll...look for a better time to talk about this. All of this. Just not with Roddy hiding in the bathroom, ok?"

"I'm not hiding!" called Roderich.

Antonio sniffled. He was on the verge of tears, but still tried to smile up at Gilbert.

"Thanks Gil. You're a great friend," said Antonio, and climbed off the bed. Gilbird peeped goodbye, and Antonio stopped to wave at him on his way out.

 

Roderich came out of the bathroom. “I told you he was trouble,” he said.

“Dude, just because someone has problems doesn’t mean you have to abandon them. He’s a good guy. Isn’t he little Gil?” his little bird peeped.

“ _You_ are the one who has too many problems. Adding Antonio to them is-“

“Antonio is not a problem. He’s my friend. Friends are never problems.”

 


End file.
